1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to one or more networked gaming systems, each having a plurality of games available to the user.
2. Description of Related Art
Several categories of networked gaming systems are well known in the prior art. A networked gaming system may be a web-based java application, like Yahoo! Games. Further, a networked gaming system may be in the form of a downloadable software application that has a unique graphical user interface and may connect to the Internet via the back end of the software, like, for example, the PartyPoker.com client application. Even further, a networked gaming system may be in the form of a networked video game console wherein the several players in a game are connected to a network through their video came console (i.e. Xbox). Other categories of networked gaming systems are apparent to those persons having ordinary skill in the art.
A user connected to a networked gaming system may choose to play one or more of the available games. In some networked gaming-systems there may be over one hundred different available games, making the selection of a specific game very cumbersome. The user may have already decided what game to play before connecting to the networked gaming system. If so, the user will have to search through the plurality of available games to locate the particular game the user would like to play. This may become burdensome when there are a large number of games offered by the networked gaming system.
When the user finally locates the game the user would like to play, there may be multiple variations of the specific game available for play. For example, for the game of poker there may be multiple games (Limit Hold'em, No-Limit Hold'em, Pot-Limit Hold'em, Omaha, 7-Card Stud, Razz), multiple game styles (cash game, tournament, sit-and-go, freeroll), and multiple game stakes (“$0.05/$0.10 Limit” through “No-Limit”). For the game of poker, there may be thousands of available variations available to the user of the networked gaming system.
Even once the user has located the game that the user would like to play, and has further located the desired variation of that specific game, the user may not be able to play because all available player positions or tables are full for that specific variation of the game. This is a very common concern for users who like to play popular games because any available position/seat is filled almost instantly after it becomes vacant. This is a major concern for networked gaming system operators because users may become frustrated and decide not to play on that particular networked gaming system in the future. Having a waiting list is known to those having ordinary skill in the art, but a waiting list is not effective because of its inherent deterrent effects. Having to wait for a game may cause a decrease in revenue for the networked gaming system or a reduction in the amount of money that the networked gaming system may earn through advertising.
Attempts have been made to alleviate some of the problems users face when trying to connect to a specific game of a networked gaming system. One downloadable poker client has a feature called “QuickSeat” that lets players bypass the lobby and choose which limit, game type, and stakes they would like to play. But, the QuickSeat feature fails to adequately solve the problems associated with networked gaming systems having a plurality of games available to the user. First, the QuickSeat feature only allows faster seating to Hold'em poker tables, and does not allow for faster seating to Omaha, 7-Card Stud, Razz, or other games. Second, the QuickSeat feature has only three fields by which the user may narrow the game selection process. Third, the QuickSeat feature does not automatically “buy-in” to the table (i.e. take money out of the user's account and sit at the table with that money). Once a table has been found that meets the three search criteria, the user still has to select how much money he would like to take to that table. Fourth, the QuickSeat feature cannot save a user's preferences and automatically seat a player at a table that meets various user-defined criteria. A player using the QuickSeat feature must re-enter his search criteria each time the user logs in to the networked gaming system.